Quick Background: I’m new to foam/latex and was surprised to read that box springs are not needed. The foundations I saw for sale seemed like something I could tackle myself. Then my master suite renovation budget went way over so one of the areas of cost savings was the bed. I planned to just build the bed out of decking lumber and add a nice headboard to it. Most beds I seen on houzz had bed skirts that covered the entire bed so I wasn’t going to spend $1000’s for a fancy bed. I decided to build it like a deck because I wanted it to be super strong, with no flex, creak noises (guess why), etc. This is the result and I’m super pleased with it.
Supplies
4 - 2x8x8
6 - 2x4x8
1 - 6x6x8 - I only had pressure treated available. Not ideal for interior use, however. I’ll wait till next year before painting it.
1 - Sheet 1/2" MDF
8 - Lag Screws w/ Washers - I think I got 1/2" x 5". I forget though
1 - Box of 4" Screws
8 - 2x4 Joist Hangars
Shims
Supplies totaled $100 for me. I think the only things I had on hand already was the MDF. A sheet of that might have pushed the total to $125. Add in the cost of whatever headboard you chose. Our’s was ‘cheap’ and set us back $400.
Tools you should have [ul]
[li]Circular Saw or Miter Saw - cross cuts[/li]
[li]Table Saw - Ripping MDF strips, fancy bevels on 6x6 posts[/li]
[li]Sawzall - Cutting 6x6 Posts. I find this to be the easiest method with tools available to me. Mark a square line on 2 sides so you can keep the cut square[/li]
[li]Impact Drill Gun - use for 4" screws and a 1/2" socket attachment for screwing in lags. Not needed but it will make your life much easier[/li]
[li]Drill Gun - for pre drilling lags and countersinking[/li]
[li]1 1/2" spade bit for countersinking Lags+Washers[/li]
[li]2’ or 4’ Level[/li]
[/ul]
High Level Instructions
Cut 2x8 to size
Assemble 2x8 Frame using 4" screws- make sure it’s square. I used 3 and 4 foot markings and a 5 foot scrap piece to span them. (look up 3,4,5 triangle)
Roll the edges at the foot of the bed. Round it over as it will be pretty sharp.
Determine total height desired and figure out how long the legs should be. I cut mine at 16"
Cut the 6x6 legs
Miter the bottoms for extra fanciness
Sand with 60 then 220 grit all 4 sides and roll the coreners
Find something to prop up the frame to the desired height.
Install first leg using Lag Bolts. I installed 2 lags per leg, one on each side. I countersunk them using a 1 1/2" spade bit too.
Level the fram and install the next leg.
Repeat. The bed should be build in place to assure it is level. Not to mention it will weigh a ton and be very difficult to transport.
Install center 2x4’s using joist hangars. Leave 1/2" on top so the slats will be flush with the frame.
Install end 2x4’s by screwing to the frame from the inside. These fit between the legs
Install perpendicular 2x4 support under the center of the span. I did this for extra support. Most frames have a center post. I think I can get away with this design and keep the underside of the bed totally free of supports. My dog will have plenty of space to hang out now.
Measure the length for the slats.
Cross cut the MDF sheet
Rip the MDF to desired slat thickness. I did about 2 3/4"
Bevel the edges of the MDF slats. Not sure if the sharp edge is a concern or not. I played it safe and bevel them. I spent more time sanding that building
Drop the slats in the frame. I haven’t screwed mine down yet. Not sure if I will or not.
Attach headboard
Cover with a skirt and drop on the mattress.
My mattress doesn’t arrive until Friday so I haven’t tested this bad boy out yet. It’s built like a deck tho (hence the title), so I have no concerns with it. I’ll post a final picture once the skirt, mattress and headboard all all finalized.
Thanks for sharing the design and instructions for your platform bed … I really appreciate it! You did a fantastic job
It looks like it’s built like a tank and would be suitable for any kind of mattress someone may buy. The photos work great and if you’d like (and with your permission) I’d be happy to download them and attach them to your post as well.
I’ve also added a link to your post in the foundation post here under platform beds so that others who are interested in building it can find it easily as well.
I just wanted to thank fireberd350 for this design. I’m sure my final product isn’t quite up to your standards, but I think I did pretty well for this being my first woodworking project since a birdhouse in middle school. Total cost for my supplies, minus the drill bits and combination square, was right around $120. Awesome deal and it was really fun to build! The only thing I couldn’t figure out is how you fit the perpendicular 2x4 support. Unless the frame was made with 2x8s instead of 2x6s, how would two stacked vertical 2x4s both fit? I just ended up installing the perpendicular 2x4 support horizontally, which seems to have worked fine. Also, we went with 4x4s for the legs to allow more options in wood type.
And thank you to Phoenix for the crazy amount of mattress info and opinions available on this forum. I did hours of research on mattresses over the last month and you were, by far, the largest influence in my decision making.
Finally, thanks to Joe (the most awesome Home Depot employee on the planet), I completed this build without sawing! I left the store with the exact sizes necessary for our California King. Here’s our awesome bed, patiently waiting for a mattress:
Very nice job Dankoni! You are correct, I did use 2x8’s. I update the material list. The 2x8’s, 6x6’s and additional perpendicular support were all just overkill. Your build is certainly plenty sturdy and probably more sturdy than anything store bought. Excellent job. Kudos on getting the cuts done at the Depot too. That takes some serious planning ahead and diagramming. That’s a lot of cuts, Home Depot Joe really took care of you.
I’ll second your comments on Phoenix too. What an amazing resource he’s created with this site. I would have ended up w/ a run of the mill big box mattress for more money than what I paid for a premium Latex from Arizona Mattress Co. Words can’t describe how good I’m sleeping these days.
[quote=“sleeping” post=27118]I would use solid wood slats. MDF spans will be prone to deform/fail, and all of those cuts can offgas the resin/glue chemicals used to make MDF.
zzz[/quote]
Also, for a foam mattress, it is possible to put your entire weight onto one slat, so I would use sufficiently wide slats and limit their span accordingly. Plus, a wider wood slat has better structural integrity and more area for connection to support members vs. a narrower slat which fails completely as its width approaches 0". Keep the gaps between the slats narrow and don’t feel the need to over populate them… just having them to perforate the platform surface is good enough for ventilation purposes. Given an 80" platform, I suggest that (12) 1x6 (5.5" width) slats with (11) ~1.25" gaps will do the job nicely. The next standard size down, 1x4 (3.5" width), could suffice except it begins to risk structural integrity and has skimpy area for a wood-to-wood connection pattern, should your design require more than a simple bearing connection.
Thank you for posting this , I’m going to attempt to build one for our new mattress. We bought the adjustable plush latex from arizona mattress company in eastern king size. I was wondering if your frame was made exactly to the same size of a eastern king 76x80 ? measured outside to outside ? Also it says you need 8 2x4 joist hangers, did you use 2 for your center perpendicular support beam? Thank you again
I intended to use the hangars on the cross beam but the side rails weren’t wide enough so I screwed them in through the side rail. Yes the frame was built to the mattress size. I originally planned to make it larger because it seemed logical but when I looked at other beds it became clear that built to size is the right way to go.
The inside dimensions of bed would be 77" so 12x5.5+11x1.25=79.75. As you can see your 12th 1x6 will not fit. The correct number of 1x6’s would be 11 with 11~1.5" gaps. Wish I would of done some math before i screwed everything down.Lol
I used 5 joists (support beams), not 3. For a queen id go with 4. I desired to remove any support obstructions under my bed to allow the dog to have room to move. If you don’t have that need then it’s better to add a center support. I’m not sure how effective the cross center 2x4 is but it helped ease my mind.
Thanks for the plans. I have an existing split box frame and screwed a piece of 1/2" plywood to the box to beef it up. Seems to work fine, 2 pieces of 1/2" plywood $36, tape measure, chalk line, skill saw, drill with screw tip and 50 1 1/4 drywall screws.
Thanks for the information and feedback about your box spring.
Just for the sake of reference … it may be worthwhile reading post #10 here about solid surface foundations because in some cases the solid surface can add some additional risk from the lack of airflow under the mattress.
